Miso mackerel

I've had some amazing food here in Finland.

Today, we went to a japanese restaurant for lunch. It reminded me of some of the small home-style restaurants I visited when I was in Japan. It was compact, the owner did the cooking, and there was a TV in the main dining area showing weird japanese programs.

I ordered the special of the day, which comprised a piece of mackerel braised in a miso-flavoured sauce. The mackerel was accompanied by rice and a number of interesting side dishes, including fern shoots. I've never had fern shoots before (apart from asparagus).

I started chatting with the owner of the restaurant who told me that she picked the shoots herself from a nearby forest. Apparently they are popular food item in Japan and have a very short harvesting season so I was quite fortunate to have tasted them. Admittedly, they had more of an interesting texture (crunchy) than a taste but I'm glad I got to try them.

The woman was originally from Tokyo and settled in Finland thirteen years ago. She has two sons (and a bunch of grand children) still in Japan. She tells me she has visited Australia once before (she has a friend living in Brisbane) but has never been to Melbourne.